Onion washing and cleaning machine



Dec. 17, 1963 T. INOSHITA 3,114,162

ONION WASHING AND CLEANING MACHINE Filed Oct. 1, 1962 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. 7

FIGS

INVENTOR.

Dec. 17, 1963 1". INOSHITAA 3,114,162

ONION WASHING AND CLEANING MACHINE Filed 001:. l, 1962.

4 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG-5 INVENTOR.

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MK7/MJ Dec. 17, 1963 Filed Oct. 1, 1962 T. INOSHITA ONION WASHING AND CLEANING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Dec. 17, 1963 Filed Oct. 1, 1962 T. INOSHITA ONION WASHING AND CLEANING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR.

3,114,162 ONIGN WASHING AND CLEANING MACHINE Torn Inoshita, 4049 W. Glendale Ave, Phoenix, Ariz. Filed Oct. 1, 1962, Ser. No. 227,491 4 Claims. (Cl. 3.l3)

This invention concerns an onion washing and cleaning machine.

The onions which are particularly adapted to be cleaned by the machine are those known to the trade as green onions, table onions, chives or bunched onions.

The machine here concerned is intended to assist in dressing and preparing the onions for market by washing, brushing and scrubbing the onions in a continuous manner and delivering them to containers, or the like, in a cleaned condition ready for the produce market.

One of the objects of the machine is to provide a means for receiving the onions to be cleaned and moving them from a receiving belt to a pair of gripping belts whereby they are firmly held by the trunk or middle portion while they are conveyed through washing and brushing apparatus in a manner so that all exposed surfaces are sub jected to the washing and brushing.

Another object is to provide mechanism for receiving the onions and mov ng them to a pair of gripping belts where they are tilted from a horizontal position to a vertical position and then moved through sprays and brush mechanisms and then delivered in uniform positions to suitable containers.

Still another object is to provide gripping belts which will grip the trunk of the onion at first one position and then a lower position so that all parts of the trunk may be reached by the cleaning mechanisms.

Other objects will appear hereinafter.

I attain the foregoing objects by means of the devices, parts and structure as shown in the accompanying drawings, in which FIGURE 1 is a plan view of the front or receiving portion of the washing and cleaning machine;

FIGURE 2 is a plan view of the machine, being the continuance of the portion shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a side elevational View of the receiving end portion of the machine, drawn on a somewhat larger scale than that of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a side elevational view of the outer portion of the machine drawn on a somewhat larger scale than FIGURE 2, said figure being a continuance of FIG- URE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a transverse sectional view of the machine taken substantially on line 5-5 of FIGURE 2 and drawn on a scale comparable to that of FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 6 is a transverse view of the machine taken substantially on line 6-6 of FIGURE 2 and drawn on a somewhat enlarged scale, comparable to that of FIG- URE 4;

FIGURE 7 is a transverse sectional view of the machine taken substantially on line 77 of FIGURE 4 and drawn on substantially the same scale as FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 8 is a transverse view of the machine taken substantially on line 88 of FIGURE 3; and

FIGURE 9 is a sectional view of the grippings belts taken on line 9 of FIGURE 3 and drawn on an enlarged scale.

3,lli,lli2 Patented Dee. l7, I963 Similar numerals refer to similar parts in the several views.

The entire machine is supported on a bed frame which includes horizontal members 2 and 3 supported on vertical members i and 5, 6 and 7, S and E. These are best shown in FIGURES 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8. On this frame, which for convenience of description is referred to as A, there is a horizontally operating onion receiving belt It at the near or receiving end of the frame. This runs over flat roller pulley 12 at the outer end and roller pulley 13 at the inner end, and is made of rubber and fabric composition. A pulley 14 is driven by a motor 16 and through intermediate belt 17, reduction gears in box 18 and a chain belt 19 drives a pulley 2% on shaft 21 which also supports'and drives pulley 13. On the left hand or upper edge of roller pulley 13 (as viewed in FIGURE 1) there are pulleys 24 and 25 which operate on horizontal shafts 26 and 27, respectively. Pulleys 2d and 25 are driven by, and operate comparatively narrow onion gripping belts 23 and 29. Each of these gripping belts is cornposed of a sponge rubber gripping surface or portion 31? backed by a harder, though flexible rubber portion 31. (See FIGURE 8.) Belts 2% and 29 extend forward from pulleys 24 and 25 and run over pulleys 35 and 36 which operate on vertical shafts 37 and 38, respectively. Pulleys 24 and 2S and 3d and 36 are of the flanged type to keep thebelts in position while in operation.

Since pulleys 24 and 25 operate on a horizontal shaft and since the shafts 37 and 33, supporting the pulleys 35 and 36 are vertical, the belts are given a degree twist. In doing this the inner lays it and 41 are brought together and run in a manner so that onions picked up and gripped at point B are turned from the horizontal to a vertical position, as shown particularly in FIGURE 8. When in the vertical position, the onions are best adapted to receive the cleaning operations hereinafter mentioned. It will be noted that the onions A-l are first laid in spaced relation on the top of belt 19. Here they are indicated by the numeral 43. This is necessary because the onions will be supported by gravity and can be laid out in spaced relation on a horizontally travelling belt much easier than in any other way. The belt It) then moves to the position indicated by B and carries the onions to a position where they will be placed between the inner lays it? and 41 of the belts 23 and 2% and at the same time rotated to the vertical position as above explained.

In order to assist belts 28 and 2h in making the twist,

guides 47 and 48 are used. These keep the inner lays of the belts in proper position and pressed together sufficiently to grip and hold the onions received from belt lit.

The onions so held, are moved in the first operation between sprays 5i and 51. within shields 52. This may be termed the first washing operation and is positioned in the near end of the frame at position C. Water for these sprays is furnished through pipes 54 from electrically driven pump 55 which draws water from a sump 56 in storage tank 57. A screen 58 separates sump 56 from the rest of tank 57.

After passing through the sprays at C the onions gripped between the belts 2S and 29 are gripped between the inner lays of parallel horizontally operating belts 6t? and 61. These belts run over right and left pulleys as which are on the same shaft as pulleys 35 and 3e and are driven by the pulleys 35 and as. Belts se and d1 are termed the second gripping belts and carry the onions received from the first gripping belts 2S and 29 forward through the machine. The next operation is termed brushing and is accomplished by a pair of rotary brushes 7i) and '71 driven in opposite directions so that their bristles contacting the onion bodies move upward over the surfaces of the onions.

Material, dirt and the like, brushed from the onions falls into the catch trough 75, positioned in the bottom of the frame below the brushes and which is tilted so that it discharges water and dirt, etc. from the left end where it falls into the container 57.

This operation is indicated by letter D. From this brushing operation D the onions are carried along the length of the machine and subjected to a second washing spray, marked E, which is the same as the first spray. The water for this spray is forced through pipe 77, and the water drains into trough 75 as above explained in relation to the brushing at D.

The onions are released from the gripping belts first above described and are then regripped by belts 9i) and 91 in the delivering end of the machine. Belts 9% and 91 grip the trunk of each onion at a different place from where it was gripped by the belts 6i and 61 near the receiving end of the machine frame. The onions are carried along between the contacting inner lays 1193 and 104 of belts 99 and 91 which run over pulleys 95 and 96 at the delivery end of the machine. All of the gripping belts, including belt 23, are driven by motor 126 through belt 121, shaft 12212 and chain 122. Belt 29 also receives drive power from motor 16 through shaft 26. This chain runs over sprocket 123 and under sprocket 124, in the machine frame so that pulley 125 is operated in a counterclockwise direction while pulley 126 is operated in a clockwise direction. These pulleys afford means for driving the belts 9b and 91, through the pulleys b and 96, above mentioned.

Rotary motion is transferred from one pulley to the adjacent pulley by having the pulleys mutually attached and running on the same shaft, as d335, FIGURE 3, and 126a and 126b, FIGURE 4, on shaft 12212.

Onions, after leaving the second brushing station F where they are brushed downwardly, are again washed at a third washing station G and linally delivered in a vertical position at H where they may be collected in a box or other suitable container.

I claim:

1. An onion cleaner comprising a. base frame having a receiving end and a delivery end, a fiat horizontal endless belt having atop lay to receive onions along one edge, with the root ends hanging over said edge, operating in the receiving end of said frame, roller pulleys supporting said belt, power means for driving said belt and roller pulleys, a pair of endless gripping belts operating over pulleys disposed in the same vertical plane with one of said gripping belt pulleys being disposed above the horizontal plane defined by the upper lay of said flat endless belt, and the other pulley being disposed below said plane, said pulleys supporting said gripping belts operating on horizontal shafts and being disposed adjacent the edge of said flat belt on which said onions have been placed; said gripping belt pulleys being positioned to support the inner adjacent lays of said gripping belts so that they run parallel and in contact with each other and grip the trunks of the onions extending over the edge of said flat belt and carry said onions forwardly, a pair of horizontally positioned pulleys at the outer delivery end of said gripping belts running on vertical shafts and supporting said gripping belts so that they have a 90 degree twist, and so that their inner lays run parallel and in contact with each other throughout the twist and thence run horizontally with the onions held by their trunks in a vertical position; a spray washer in said frame disposed to spray the exposed portions of the vertically held onions as they move through said twisted portion of said gripping belts; a second pair of gripping belts operating on flanged pulleys journalled on vertical shafts in said frame and disposed so that their inner lays run in contact with each other, said second pair of belts being disposed so that the contacting portion of said inner lays receive onions from said twisted gripping belts; a pair of cylindrical brushes operating axially in said frame and disposed to brush the onions held by said gripping belts; a catch water trough in said frame disposed below said spray and brushes tilted to drain into a sump tank, a sump tank receiving water from said trough, and a pump drawing Water from said sump and delivering it to said'spray nozzles.

2. An onion cleaning machine comprising a base frame having a receiving end and a delivery end, a fiat horizontal endless receiving belt, disposed to receive onions along one edge, operating in the receiving end of said frame, pulleys supporting said belt, a motor driving said flat belt and pulley-s so that the top lay of the belt moves toward the delivery end of said frame, a pair ofendless gripping belts operating over flanged pulleys on horizontal shafts adjacent the edge of said flat belt on which onions to be cleaned have been placed; gripping belt pulleys supporting said gripping belts positioned so that the inner lays of said gripping belts run parallel and contact each other and provide a means for gripping the trunks of onions as they extend over the edge of said flat belt and carry them forward, a pair of horizontally disposed pulleys operating in the same plane, disposed at the outer ends of said gripping belts and journalled on the vertical shafts supporting said gripping belts so that they are each given a ninety degree twist, and so that the inner lays run parallel and in contact with each other throughout the twist and thence horizontally to hold said onions vertically; guides on said frame to maintain the contacting lays of said gripping belts in contact throughout said twist while in operation; a spray washer in said frame having nozzles disposed to spray the vertically held onions in said gripping belts after they leave said twisted portions of said belts; a second pair of gripping belts operating on flanged pulleys journalled on vertical shafts in said frame and disposed so that said belts extend toward the delivery end of said frame with their inner lays running in contact with each other; said second pair of gripping belts being disposed so that the contacting portion of said inner lays receive onions from said twisted gripping belts and grip the trunks of the onions within a different horizontal plane from that gripped by said twisted belts; a pair of cylindrical brushes operating in said frame adapted to brush said onions over the exposed portions thereof that extend over the edges of said second pair of gripping belts; a third pair of gripping belts running over flanged pulleys in said frame disposed so that the inner adjacent lays of said belts run in contact with each other and are positioned to receive onions from said second gripping belts and will grip said onions at a different horizontal plane from that gripped by said twisted gripping belts; flanged pulleys supporting said belts and connected to a power drive means; a power drive means connected to said second belt supporting pulleys to drive said second gripping belts; said pulleys between the twisted belts and second belts and between said second gripping belts and said third pair of gripping belts being disposed so that the drive from the second belt is transmitted to the pulleys supporting the twisted belts :and the third pair of gripping belts; a spray washer in said frame having nozzles disposed to spray onions held between the contacting lays of said third pair of gripping belts with water; a second pair of brushes driven by a motor disposed in said frame so that their bristles contact the exposed portions of the onions, gripped by said third pair of belts, that extend beyond the edges of said gripping belts; a catch trough positioned in said frame below said belts and tilted to drain water caught from said spray-s toward the receiving end of said frame; a sump tank receiving water from said trough and s, 1 1 4,162 5 6 disposed at the delivery end of said frame; a pumpdrawing cleaned have sponge rubber gripping surfaces attached to water from said sump sank and delivering it to pipes; a flexi ble non-elastic supporting backing strip attached to pipes connecting said pump to said sprays. aid sponge R r.

3. In the device described in claim 1 wherein said gripping belts are provided with belt guides disposed to 5 References Clted the file of thls Patent cont-act the non-gripping opposite edges of said belts and UNITED STATES PATENTS maintain the gripping surfaces in contact. 1 77 734 Ommer sept- 30 1930 4. In the device described in claim 1 in which said end- 2,625 781 Tateyama Jan 20 1953 less gripping belts for gripping and holding onions to be 2,771,728 Mason Nov. 27, 1956 

1. AN ONION CLEANER COMPRISING A BASE FRAME HAVING A RECEIVING END AND A DELIVERY END, A FLAT HORIZONTAL ENDLESS BELT HAVING A TOP LAY TO RECEIVE ONIONS ALONG ONE EDGE, WITH THE ROOT ENDS HANGING OVER SAID EDGE, OPERATING IN THE RECEIVING END OF SAID FRAME, ROLLER PULLEYS SUPPORTING SAID BELT, POWER MEANS FOR DRIVING SAID BELT AND ROLLER PULLEYS, A PAIR OF ENDLESS GRIPPING BELTS OPERATING OVER PULLEYS DISPOSED IN THE SAME VERTICAL PLANE WITH ONE OF SAID GRIPPING BELT PULLEYS BEING DISPOSED ABOVE THE HORIZONTAL PLANE DEFINED BY THE UPPER LAY OF SAID FLAT ENDLESS BELT, AND THE OTHER PULLEY BEING DISPOSED BELOW SAID PLANE, SAID PULLEYS SUPPORTING SAID GRIPPING BELTS OPERATING ON HORIZONTAL SHAFTS AND BEING DISPOSED ADJACENT THE EDGE OF SAID FLAT BELT ON WHICH SAID ONIONS HAVE BEEN PLACED; SAID GRIPPING BELT PULLEYS BEING POSITIONED TO SUPPORT THE INNER ADJACENT LAYS OF SAID GRIPPING BELTS SO THAT THEY RUN PARALLEL AND IN CONTACT WITH EACH OTHER AND GRIP THE TRUNKS OF THE ONIONS EXTENDING OVER THE EDGE OF SAID FLAT BELT AND CARRY SAID ONIONS FORWARDLY, A PAIR OF HORIZONTALLY POSITIONED PULLEYS AT THE OUTER DELIVERY END OF SAID GRIPPING BELTS RUNNING ON VERTICAL SHAFTS AND SUPPORTING SAID GRIPPING BELTS SO THAT THEY HAVE A 90 DEGREE TWIST, AND SO THAT THEIR INNER LAYS RUN PARALLEL AND IN CONTACT WITH EACH OTHER THROUGHOUT THE TWIST AND THENCE RUN HORIZONTALLY WITH THE ONIONS HELD BY THEIR TRUNKS IN A VERTICAL POSITION; A SPRAY WASHER IN SAID FRAME DISPOSED TO SPRAY THE EXPOSED PORTIONS OF THE VERTICALLY HELD ONIONS AS THEY MOVE THROUGH SAID TWISTED PORTION OF SAID GRIPPING BELTS; A SECOND PAIR OF GRIPPING BELTS OPERATING ON FLANGED PULLEYS JOURNALLED ON VERTICAL SHAFTS IN SAID FRAME AND DISPOSED SO THAT THEIR INNER LAYS RUN IN CONTACT WITH EACH OTHER, SAID SECOND PAIR OF BELTS BEING DISPOSED SO THAT THE CONTACTING PORTION OF SAID INNER LAYS RECEIVE ONIONS FROM SAID TWISTED GRIPPING BELTS; A PAIR OF CYLINDRICAL BRUSHES OPERATING AXIALLY IN SAID FRAME AND DISPOSED TO BRUSH THE ONIONS HELD BY SAID GRIPPING BELTS; A CATCH WATER TROUGH IN SAID FRAME DISPOSED BELOW SAID SPRAY AND BRUSHES TILTED TO DRAIN INTO A SUMP TANK, A SUMP TANK RECEIVING WATER FROM SAID TROUGH, AND A PUMP DRAWING WATER FROM SAID SUMP AND DELIVERING IT TO SAID SPRAY NOZZLES. 